Breaking Through
by WaffelWollust
Summary: When a lonely high school girl gets invited to a Halloween party by her friends, she jumps at the chance. But when she somehow manages to find herself in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world, things get a little strange. Can she make her way back home without messing up canon? Or will she have to reveal what she knows in order to get back? No pairings whatsoever.
1. Prologue

This is one of those "real world person winds up in the Yu-Gi-Oh! World" stories. I wanted to do something different with it than what I had seen other people do, and since it's Halloween and all, I decided I'd do a Halloween themed one.

This beginning didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to, but I think it's okay, even though it's a little short (and possibly a little cliched; I'm not sure). I hope it makes sense; if it doesn't, please tell me! I would love it if you would review~

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In every world, in every universe, there are set ways of how things work. No matter how different or similar these worlds may be, there are some constants that bind them all together. In each world, there is a balance of opposites. Light and Dark, Good and Evil clash endlessly, each one struggling for the upper hand. And in each world, where the realms of Light and Dark meet, there is Shadow. This Shadow Realm is an in-between place that connects each world to each other while never truly touching anything. Some worlds have had more contact with the Shadow Realm than others, and the beings that live in those worlds found ways to use its strange brand of magic, both natural and created. But all worlds have access to this realm in one way or another, whether they know of its existence or not.

However, even those worlds that know how to access the Realm of Shadows do not know that there is yet another Realm that all worlds have in common, one that is closely related to the Shadow Realm. The Realm of Dreams. Lying in the space between the Shadow Realm and the living worlds, the Realm of Dreams is very small, yet can touch any world that calls to it.

An extension of the Shadow Realm itself, nothing can survive there for long, for nothing was meant to live in the shifting mists that it consists of. Although no one is truly aware that the Realm of Dreams is there, most beings from most worlds call out to it, letting its mists entertain them in their sleep, gently carrying them through to another day like a mother carrying her child. And, even though occasionally the mists of Dreams cause nightmares instead of sweet sleep, the beings of each world continue to call out to the mist each night, unaware of what they are doing.

But there is more to the Realm of Dreams than entertaining people each night. Occasionally it will reach tendrils of mist out to people during the day, distracting them or giving them ideas of things they could create. Some of these people share their dreams with others, unknowingly becoming a willing agent of Dream Realm. These people have been called many different things throughout history. Artists, authors, storytellers, bards. No matter what they are called, they continue to spread their dreams to others, inspiring them in turn to have more and more dreams and create more stories.

The special thing about stories is that they can be told through both words and pictures. Pictures are both harder and easier to use in storytelling than words, for they are often hard to create and can be interpreted in different ways, but even the simplest pictures can tell a story. Words on the other hand, can be harder to utilize, for the placement of words can be crucial for both enjoyment and understanding, and changing a even single word can irrevocably alter the meaning.

But both spoken and written words can contain great power, whether in conversation or in magic. Words are often essential for practicing magic, for they contain vast magic, and they often give spells the power they need to work properly. Many ancient civilizations knew the power in words, which is why people such as the ancient Greeks and Egyptians usually put great value in people who could write or tell stories. The Dream Realm is a large part of the reason why words have such power and strong magic contained in them. And so, even though it is part of the Shadow Realm, its tendrils of mist find ways to spread farther and deeper into the worlds they both influence.

But the Dream Realm has one more unique attribute. In each world in every universe, at a certain time every year, the normally inaccessible Dream Realm becomes a bridge between the rest of the Shadow Realm and the mortal planes. It is at this time that the denizens of the Shadow Realm can briefly cross over into the other worlds without the aid of a Shadow Mage. These monsters, which are leftover portions of human souls known as _ka _by the Egyptians, are usually barely noticeable by people, being made of Shadows. They dismiss them as merely being a trick of the light, brought on by the jumpy feelings that all beings experience on this day, a common side effect that most people experience when coming in contact with any bit of the Shadow Realm, as it is not natural to any plain of existence other than its own.

But sometimes, perhaps due to the Dream Realm's whim or other outside factor, a Shadow Realm monster will be more solid and noticeable than its fellows when it materializes in a mortal world. It is from these monsters that stories of vampires, ghosts, zombies, and other fiends most often come from. It is usually wise to not walk outside alone on this night, for if these more solid monsters catch you by yourself, they become more tempted to take you back with them. The denizens of the Shadow Realm can get very lonely, and most of the time a monster will not stop to consider the consequences of its actions and will forget that living beings do not belong in the Shadow Realm.

Thus, a monster will drag a living being back to its home in the Shadows, where it will usually become overwhelmed by the strain of trying to exist in such a place and die, becoming a monster itself. But sometimes, a lucky person can find their way back across the bridge, back to their world, bringing with them stories of a horrible, nightmarish place where monsters dwell.

It is from these stories and the arrival of those monsters from that mysterious realm that led to the legends and creation of that holiday so treasured by children, where the spirits of the dead are at their strongest, All Hallows Eve, Halloween. It is on this day, that celebration of fear and trickery, nightmare and fantasy come alive, that is both revered and hated by the people of every world. For it is on this day that they never know if a monster might unexpectedly take them away, to fight for their lives to come back to the world of the living. . .


	2. Chapter 1

We get to meet the main character! Yay! I'm a little hesitant to post this as is, because I'm pretty sure she's too angsty, but at the same time this is one of the few times in the story where she's going to be moping around. I just know that if I read a story, having a bunch of angst in the first chapter would put me off, so I feel obligated to warn you guys. ^^" There will be very little angst for the rest of this story, so please bear with me!

I hope the characters are all likable and/or realistic. _I_ think they are, but I don't think my opinion is the one that counts. XD

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can improve this chapter, please feel free to tell me! I would love to get some reviews!

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Chapter One

Outside, the autumn leaves began to swirl in the air, blown around by the unseen wind. Terra shivered, watching through the window as she rubbed her goose-bump covered arms. "It looks really cold out there," she stated loudly to her mother who was washing dishes in the other room. "It looks like it's even colder out there than it is in here!" Exasperated, Terra's mother sighed and left the dishes where they were as she leaned into the other room to glare pointedly at her daughter.

"You wouldn't be so cold if you would move around more often," she stated, receiving nothing but a sigh in response. "I mean it! All you do is sit around! Why don't you invite some friends over and go out and play?" It was true, Terra almost never left the house, spending almost all of her time reading or drawing, the rest spent on video games and Internet surfing. Mrs. Drake was quickly becoming concerned about Terra's health, but so far all of her attempts to get her daughter doing things outside were all for naught, as she shot all of them down, claiming that there was 'nothing to do out there'. This time was no exception, with Terra promptly snorting rudely her mother's suggestion, but for once it wasn't for the reason Mrs. Drake expected.

"What friends?" Terra asked, waving her arms and looking around, as if to say '_I_ certainly don't see any'. "Don't you think if I had some real friends, I would have invited them over by now?" As though only just realizing the full extent of what she was saying, Terra promptly lowered her eyes and turned back to the window, temporarily lost in thought. Mrs. Drake furrowed her brow in confusion and sat down beside her on the windowsill, forcing Terra to look back at her.

"What do you mean? What about those girls you sit next to during lunch at school?" she asked, concerned. "I thought _they_ were your friends? You're always talking about them. . ." Terra just sighed and shook her head slowly.

"I have almost nothing in common with them, Mom!" she said tiredly, as thought she had already said it a thousand times. "They're loud, and- and rambunctious, and they're materialistic too. The only real differences between them and the popular kids are they're more kiddish and slightly more nerdy. Compare that to quiet, little, nerdy me? We're worlds apart." For a moment, her mother could only stare at her before shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well, first of all, you're one of the tallest girls in the school. You're anything but 'little'," she began, shifting back into 'lecture mode', as Terra liked to secretly call it. "And second of all, shouldn't the fact that they're nice to you be more important than whether they're just like you or not?" The teenaged girl merely groaned and bumped her head gently on the window in frustration.

"_Of course_ being nice is more important! But they _aren't all that nice_, that's the problem!" She sighed and took a deep breath in an attempt to keep her voice down. "We don't really like any of the same things, and when I try to talk about things that I like, they either ignore me or talk over me. . ." Her mother huffed and glared sternly at her, causing her to shrink back ever-so-slightly.

"Then find someone else to sit with! Be more outgoing, talk to new people! _Smile at them!_ Don't just sit there being a grump and expect people to want to hang out with you!" Mrs. Drake stood up, wiped off her pants, and walked away rolling her eyes. "If you would just _talk_ to people instead of assuming they're exactly the way you think of them, you might find you have more in common than you think." With that final statement, Terra's mother went back to the kitchen to finish the dishes.

Terra blinked slowly, turning her mother's words over in her head, as she recalled various parts of their conversation. She began to carefully consider the possibilities of what might happen if she smiled at people at school the next day. After all, she couldn't initiate a conversation, even if she wanted to. She had no topics to talk about and no social skills to speak of. She would just end up embarrassing herself. _'But,'_ she thought to herself carefully. _'smiling might be more do-able.' _The only reason she didn't smile at people was because she could never tell if they were looking at her or not. It was. . . awkward, to say the least. But if she smiled at **everybody**, then it wouldn't matter if they were looking at her or not, right? Right. With this plan of action in mind, Terra went back to gazing out the window and watching the swirling leaves dance as she tried to keep her now-growing anxiety stamped down.

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The next day at school, Terra put "Operation: Friend Maker" into action. She tried her best to give at least a small smile to everyone she saw. Some of the kids she walked by burst into laughter after she had passed, but she didn't have any idea if they were laughing at her or not, so she tried to ignore it and kept smiling at people. She thought it was going well, all things considered. No one seemed to be outright making fun of her anyway, so that was good. She was, however, asked several times by her teachers if she was alright, which she didn't understand why but responded with a confused "yes" each time regardless.

Terra managed to keep on smiling until lunchtime, at which point she sat down at her usual spot, at the rightmost edge of the third table from the left in the row that was farthest from the classrooms. She sat in the same exact place every day for two reasons. The first reason was the other kids always got mad at her and ordered her to move when she sat at any other table. She assumed this was because it left less space for their friends to sit with them, and never really questioned it as she thought them all odd anyway. The other reason was, if she sat anywhere else, even if it was just one seat over, she started feeling odd. It just felt wrong, like she was suddenly out of synch with the rest of the world. She felt the same way if any of her daily routines had unplanned disruptions.

Sometimes Terra wondered if she had Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or something, but her parents always denied it, saying there was nothing wrong with her. Terra snorted to herself, losing the smile for a minute before reminding herself and plastering it back on her face. _'Nothing wrong with me. Yeah right,'_ she thought to herself as she waited for her table-mates with hidden anxiousness. _'If there's nothing wrong with me, then why do I always feel like such an outcast?'_ Terra's rather angsty thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a tray full of cafeteria food slammed down right in front of her, startling her and causing her head to shoot up, eyes wide in alarm.

"_Much_ better," her friend Melody said, sounding very satisfied as she sat down across from Terra.

". . . What's better?" Terra asked curiously, wondering if maybe something happened in one of Melody's classes. Melody stared pointedly at her, causing her to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Out of nowhere, Terra's other friend, Hannah, sat down next to Melody, setting her tray down much more carefully than the other girl had.

"You looked like a deer in the headlights who was either constipated or in pain," Hannah explained bluntly, patting Terra on the back in a way that was supposed to be comforting, but made her as uncomfortable as her words did.

"W-what do you mean?" Terra asked nervously. "I was just smiling!" But Melody just shook her head.

"No, you were grimacing," she informed her. "There's a difference."

"But I **was** smiling!" Terra insisted, trying her best to not sound hysterical.

"Grimacing~" Melody sang, making Terra's heart sink. And she had thought she had been doing so well too! "This does explain those weird rumors though."

". . . What rumors?" Hannah asked for Terra, seeing the look of horror on her face. Before Melody could answer, the rest of their group took their seats at the table, chattering excitedly.

"Hey guys, did you hear?" one girl asked in a conspiratorial tone.

"No, what?" The others leaned in close, anxious to hear.

"Tiffany told Derek, who told Katie, who told me that some kid lost a bet and had to superglue her eyes open! She had to go to the hospital, but they couldn't get them to close, so she had to come to school like that." Giggles.

"What? That's not what I heard!" another girl said.

"What did you hear?"

"I heard that she's never had caffeine before, and someone dared her to drink a 5 Hour Energy!"

"No way!" "Really?!" "I don't believe that!"

Terra stared at them in pure horror, putting the pieces together and suppressing the urge to run away and hide. "My life is officially over," she groaned, resting her head in her hands.

"What were you trying to do, anyway?" Melody asked while munching on her chicken burger. Terra froze, not sure what to say. She didn't know if they actually considered her a friend or a not, and she didn't want to hurt their feelings by saying she was hoping to make some new friends because what if they took it the wrong way and WHY did she have to over-think everything?!

"I- uh. . . It doesn't matter now. . ." Terra ducked her head in embarrassment and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not liking this conversation in the slightest. She was extremely relieved when they merely shrugged and turned to safer, more relaxing topics. She sat and watched everyone else eat their lunches as they began talking about the different anime they all watched. Terra didn't like any of the anime they mentioned, but it was better than hearing any more rumors about herself, that was for sure. At least, it _was_, until Hannah decided to try and include her in their conversation.

"What about you Terra? What's your favorite anime?" Hannah asked out of the blue, startling her badly as suddenly all eyes at the table were on her. Terra gulped nervously and began picking at one of the scabs on her arms- a bad and disgusting habit, but one she hadn't yet been able to break.

"Well, um, I like Pokemon," she started, trying her best not to stumble over hear words. "The older seasons though, not the newer ones, and, um, I also really like Yu-Gi-Oh!" The others just nodded and went back to talking to each other, making Terra feel relieved for a minute, but the moment passed and she started feeling very foolish. Both shows were commonly considered to only be for little kids, and no self-respecting high school student would admit to liking either of them. Even if the original version of Yu-Gi-Oh! was not suitable for children in the slightest, she would have been much better off mentioning something like Negima! instead. _'Oh well, too late now,'_ Terra thought to herself, doing her best to appear nonchalant, as though she **wasn't** silently chastising herself for saying something she though was stupid.

Terra watched kids pass by their table as they went about their business, talking and laughing with each other as they went to their own tables. She stared after them almost wistfully, as though she was remembering this event after many years instead of experiencing it in the present. Secretly, she longed to have a relationship like that with anybody, where she could truly be herself and talk about what she wanted to for once without getting interrupted, because they would be just as interested in Yu-Gi-Oh! as she was. Where they wouldn't mind hearing about her theories and head-canons because she enjoyed listening to theirs, and they would have lots in common even though completely different people. . .

Suddenly, Terra jumped as she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. She whirled around in her seat, expecting a bully or maybe a teacher, only to find Hannah standing behind her. She blinked and glanced over at the spot where Hannah had been sitting only moments before, wondering when she had moved before realizing that everyone else at their table was gone. "They all went to walk around," Hannah told her, noticing her confusion.

Terra let out a soft "oh", feeling embarrassed. She hadn't even noticed them get up to leave! _'Talk about "space cadet",'_ she silently scolded herself. Hannah re-seated herself, right next to Terra, slight concern evident on her face.

"Are you okay Terra?" she asked, taking careful note of the way the other girl turned away at the question. "You've been a major daydreamer the entire time I've known you, but lately you just seem kind of. . . distant. Is something wrong?" Terra gulped, unsure of how she should answer. Taking a deep breath, she attempted another smile.

"Everything's fine, Hannah," she lied, wanting this conversation to end. Hannah wasn't fooled though.

"Come on Terra, please don't lie to me."

_'Crap,'_ Terra thought. _'It's like she's psychic or something. . .' _She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, subconsciously taking note of her numerous split ends and tangles as she thought about what to say. What exactly _was_ wrong, anyway?

". . . I guess. . . I guess I'm a little. . . lonely. . . ?" 'A little' was probably an understatement, and she wasn't sure if 'lonely' was the right word, but it was the best description she could come up with for the way she was feeling right now, so it would have to do. Hannah was looking at her a little funny, as though expecting her to say more. _'But what else is there to say?'_ she wondered, staring at Hannah blankly. When it became apparent that Terra was not going to say anything else, Hannah sighed and started rummaging around in her backpack as though looking for something. Bewildered, Terra watched as she pulled out some sort of flier and handed it to her. Looking at it more closely, Terra realized that it was advertising some kind of Halloween party. "What. . . what exactly is this?" she asked. She began squinting her eyes at it as though that would help her divine its meaning. What was the point of handing this to her? What did a party have to do with anything?

"It's the annual Halloween Bash, down at the old MacFarland Mansion," Hannah told her, as though she should know what she was talking about. Hannah waited for the spark of understanding to enter her friend's eyes, but that spark never came, and Terra continued to stare blankly at her.

"There's an annual Halloween party?" she asked, curiosity overwhelming her. "Wait, hold that thought. There's a _mansion?!_ Since when!?" Hannah stared incredulously at her friend.

"How can you not know?! The MacFarland Mansion has been at the top of the hill downtown for centuries, and the MacFarlands have been hosting the Halloween Bash since before we were born! As soon as they get too old for Trick or Treating, all of the teenagers start partying their Halloween nights away at the Bash!" Terra blinked in shock.

"You can get too old for Trick or Treating? Is that even _possible?!"_ For a minute, Hannah could only stare as she processed this outburst.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" she asked curiously, not intending to be mean or rude. Terra cast her eyes down and started picking at her scabs again.

". . . I can't really remember the last time I went to a party. I can barely even remember my own birthday parties," she admitted, thoroughly embarrassed once again. She always knew she was kind of pathetic, but having it thrown in her face like this hurt. After a moment, she glanced back up to see Hannah staring at her once more, clearly at a loss for words. But then, suddenly her eyes were brimming with determination, and Terra felt like she could literally feel a fire burning inside them.

"You are coming with us to that party," Hannah told her, the tone of her voice leaving no room for any argument. The bell rang, and the other students left in the cafeteria picked up their backpack and began ambling towards their classrooms. Terra moved to follow them when Hannah reached her hand out and stopped her, her eyes still burning fiercely. "Halloween is this Saturday. Come to my house around seven thirty and we'll walk to the mansion together, it's not far from where I live. The party starts at eight, so we'll have plenty of time." Terra just nodded dumbly, attempting to process all of this.

She was going to a party. Her. At a party. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see herself in any sort of party-like environment. While she considered herself to be friendly, she knew that other people probably viewed her as cold. She also knew that they were probably at least partially right. Terra knew full well that she could not relate to real people at all, and as such it was difficult to even visualize herself in a room full of other people, let alone having fun. She was so wrapped up in her worries that she almost didn't hear what Hannah said next.

"And since it's a costume party, make sure to wear a costume, okay? It **is** Halloween, after all." Terra turned around at this, only to see Hannah already heading off to class. Belatedly realizing she should do the same, Terra hurriedly grabbed her backpack and stood up, thoughts swirling as she jogged off to class. Her? A party? A costume party? Her mind flashed to this year's Halloween costume, sitting ready-to-go in her closet, and she couldn't help but laugh hysterically to herself, earning an odd glance from a passing teacher. Well, if she was going to stick out like a sore thumb, at least she would be doing it in _style_. Entering her math classroom, she ignored the stares and whispers from her classmates as she gave one last small cackle and sat down in her seat, leaning back slightly as she began to relax. Her teacher promptly began the day's lesson, and after his brief explanation of their assignment, Terra got to work while quietly humming Leather Pants to herself, grinning diabolically all the while.

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I hope that ending didn't completely give away what she's dressing as for Halloween. If you can't guess it, then **great**~ If you can guess it, then oh well~

**AND BEFORE ANYBODY PANICS**, there's not going to be Abridged references everywhere. In fact, that brief mention of Leather Pants is probably going to be the only Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series reference in the entire story. I **know!** Crazy, right?! Every time I see a story like this where there's Abridged references everywhere, I just want to cringe. So I'm going to do my best to not do that, because that's not the point of the story, and I feel like it would detract from it greatly.

Leather Pants doesn't belong to me, by the way. It belongs to Little Kuriboh. I didn't put it at the top of the story because. . . I don't know. I didn't feel like it I guess. If people complain then I'll move it to the top.


	3. Chapter 2

I was hoping to finish this before Halloween ended, but that didn't get to happen. Then I was hoping to finish it the next day, but this chapter turned out **WAY** longer than I was expecting. Whoops. I was having troubles with terminology and stuff, because I was honestly drawing a blank on what some of this stuff should be called. So if something sounds stupid or not right, please tell me so I can change it and make it better.

I have no idea what genre or rating this story actually is, by the way. I just picked what sounded right at the time, but now it seems to be veering slightly into the Horror genre. Do I need to up the rating or anything?

Ah, I'm going to feel so awkward updating this from now on since it's after Halloween. XD Hopefully I'm not the only one who enjoys reading holiday-themed stories all year. ^^"

Thank you so much to all the people who favorited and reviewed this story! (I don't know how to reply to reviews -or if you even can- so I apologize. ^^")

I hope you guys enjoy this and that it doesn't suck! And as always, I would love it if you guys would review~

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Chapter Two

"There!" Terra said, satisfied, as she finished putting on her make-up. She put the eyeliner away and adjusted her wig as she examined her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Perfect." And it was perfect. Her costume was awesome, and it had been pretty simple to convince her parents to allow her to go. She thought back to when she had come home on Wednesday. She had walked through the door, dumped her backpack on the living room couch, turned to her surprised mother and announced, "I'm going to a party with my friends on Saturday."

". . . I thought you 'didn't have any friends'?" Mrs. Drake asked, making quotation marks in the air teasingly. Terra rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You know what I mean," she said, shaking her head. Terra's father, who had been watching their exchange in confusion, cut in.

"Is this the annual Halloween party at the MacFarlands' we're talking about?" Startled, Terra turned her attention to him.

"Yeah. Hannah invited me to go with her because I didn't know what it was. And by 'invited', I mean 'demanded'," Terra told them, snickering a little. _'Hannah can be amusing sometimes,'_ she thought to herself. "Why do you ask?"

"The Halloween Bash is supposed to be one of the most popular local Halloween events for teens, and it's supervised and safe. She should be fine, especially if she's with friends," her father stated, before noticing the odd stares they were giving him. "What? Am I not allowed to read the newspaper anymore?" Terra and her mother giggled at him for a second before calming down. Terra's mother thought for a minute, then nodded.

"All right, I guess if it's supervised then it should be okay. You can go. **But**," she added before Terra could thank her. "If you take one step outside where you're supposed to be, you won't be allowed outside the house again until you're thirty, got it?" Terra stared at her mother blankly, wondering where that had come from.

". . . Isn't that a little. . . I don't know, _harsh?_" Mrs. Drake shook her head and wrapped her daughter in a tight hug.

"I just need to know you're safe sweetheart. You're my baby and I love you!"

"ACK! All right, all right, I promise I'll be good!" Terra yelped as her mother hugged her even tighter and nearly crushed her lungs. _'It's not like I was going to sneak away anyway, but geez!'_ she thought to herself as Mrs. Drake mercifully released her and let her catch her breath. Once she was out of her mother's death-hug, Terra grinned and grabbed her things, yelling a quick "Thanks Mom, I love you, bye!" as she sprinted upstairs to her bedroom. The last thing she heard before she shut the door behind her was her father.

"And the same punishment goes if we catch you with a boy!" he shouted up to her before her mother shushed him.

"Terra! Hurry up, you're going to be late!" Terra nearly jumped five feet in the air at the sudden sound of her mother's voice at the bathroom door. She hadn't even realized she'd been daydreaming!

"Coming Mom!" she yelped, adjusting her wig on last time before opening the bathroom door, only to find the hallway empty, her mother having already left to start up the car. Quickly making sure she had all the parts of her costume on, Terra rushed out to the car and jumped in.

"About time," Mrs. Drake grumbled, backing her car out of the driveway before Terra even had a chance to buckle her seat-belt.

"Sorry," Terra squeaked, embarrassed. "I zoned out a little."

"So nothing's changed," her mother teased. Terra made a face and stuck her tongue out before they both burst into giggles.

Luckily, Hannah's house was only about ten minutes away, and they made good time. They pulled up to Hannah's house at seven-thirty exactly, and Terra quickly leaped out of the car as soon as it came to a complete stop.

"Have fun sweetheart!" her mother called out before she could close the car door.

"I will! Bye Mom!" She closed the door and stood to wave goodbye as her mother drove away, before turning to face the house and strolling to the front door with her head held high and an in-character smirk in place. She only had to wait a few seconds after ringing the doorbell before Hannah appeared. She was wearing a really nice Esmeralda costume, and Terra mentally decided that all she needed was the goat sidekick and a friend dressed as Quasimodo. It was odd seeing Hannah without her red hair, a long black wig replacing the curly locks. _'It's probably as weird for her to see me with blond hair though,'_ Terra thought to herself. Hannah took one look at Terra and burst out laughing. Terra frowned. "What's so funny?" Hannah shook her head in disbelief, still smiling.

"I should have known you would dress up as Marik, but for some reason, I'm surprised anyway," she said before managing to wipe the rest of the smile off her face. Terra was bewildered.

"What do you mean? Why should you have known I would be Marik for Halloween?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Hannah admitted sheepishly as she stepped out and locked the front door behind her. She turned around and examined Terra closely before shaking her head. "I don't know, it just. . . It just suits you, but at the same time it doesn't. It's weird." Terra blinked and looked down, closely examining her costume.

"Is there something wrong with it?" she asked worriedly, furrowing her brows. Hannah hurriedly shook her head.

"No, no, there's nothing wrong with your costume! It's awesome! It just fits with your personality in an odd way, that's all." Terra thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. She didn't really get it, but she supposed it was all right. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Weren't there supposed to be other people with us?" Terra asked. Hannah blinked in confusion before understanding dawned on her.

"Oh, the others are going to meet us at the mansion; I'm just showing you the way because you get lost so easily," Hannah told her, not resisting the opportunity to tease her. Terra blushed, but didn't deny it. It was actually one of the reasons she didn't dress as Bakura; it would be too frustrating for her to have a Millennium Ring that she couldn't use to find her way around, the way Bakura did. _'Besides,'_ Terra thought to herself, giggling. _'Marik's outfit look _way_ more like a costume.' _

They were just a block away from their destination when Terra abruptly stopped. It took a moment for the action to register in Hannah's mind before she stopped and turned to face her friend, who was staring wide-eyed at something up ahead.

"What's wrong, Terra?" Hannah asked, mildly concerned. This was unlike how the girl normally acted; even if she had been daydreaming, she would have kept walking. There had been more than one occasion where she had walked into mailboxes and fences because of this. Terra whimpered and backed up a few paces, still staring at that one spot. Thoroughly worried now, Hannah turned to see for herself.

There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing. Hannah was frustrated and confused now. They were going to be late for the party, all because Terra was scared of an empty spot! "Terra, tell me what's wrong," she demanded, shaking her friend's shoulders as gently as possible, even though she kind of wanted to strangle her right now.

Terra seemed to wake up from her trance and her eyes locked with Hannah's, filled with barely-concealed panic.

"Something _moved_," she whispered hoarsely, pointing shakily at the spot as she spoke.

Hannah wanted to slap herself, but settled for sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Terra, there's nothing there," she said slowly, as though talking to a small child. She reached out to take Terra's hand, hoping to lead her past the spot, but the other girl jumped back and shook her head violently.

"Something moved! It was there! I _saw_ it!" She looked truly panicked now, and Hannah was beginning to wonder if this had been such a good idea after all.

"Terra, there's nothing there," she repeated firmly. "It was probably just a bug or something."

"It was too big to be a bug," Terra insisted, staring at Hannah stubbornly.

"Maybe a cat then?" Hannah asked hopefully, discreetly checking the time. _'Dammit, she's made us late.'_

"No, it didn't look like an animal," Terra said, shifting her eyes back to the empty spot. "It looked like. . . I don't even know how to describe it! Like. . . like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak or something! You know, how in the movies, the stuff behind him gets kind of distorted where he is? It was a lot like that, except more shadowy." This time Hannah really did slap herself, making Terra jump and stare at her with wide eyes.

"All right, you have been watching _way_ too much Yu-Gi-Oh!" she yelled, exasperated. "There is _nothing there_, Terra! I can understand being a little jumpy. Lots of people get jumpy on Halloween, it's normal. But don't you think freaking out about an empty spot on the street is a little ridiculous? It's getting dark and the streetlamps are starting to turn on. It was probably just a trick of the light. Now, **come on**." Hannah grabbed Terra's arm before she could react and started dragging her along despite her protests.

"HANNAH! You're going to get us killed!" she shrieked. Hannah merely shook her head and stubbornly ignored her, and before Terra quite realized it, they were past the spot.

"See?" Hannah told her pointedly. "There was nothing there and nothing happened. It was just a trick of the light." Terra nervously glanced back at the spot, expecting to be attacked from behind any second. There was nothing there.

_'. . . Maybe I am a little jumpy today,'_ she admitted to herself after a moment. _'But I was so sure I saw something!'_ But she did have a history of seeing things, she had to admit. She could still remember that time when she was a kid, when she saw what looked _exactly_ like Voldemort in her room while she was trying to sleep. _'And then there was that time when I saw the shadow of that purple, Hulk-y character from "Dexter's Lab",'_ she reminded herself as they started to come up on the mansion gates. _'Maybe I should just try to accept that my mind and eyes like to conspire against me. . .'_ she decided, before being startled out of her musings by the fuzzy **things** that were suddenly in her face. She screamed and flung herself back, winding up on the ground as Hannah laughed.

"They're fake, Terra. Relax," she told her, leading her gently past the giant spiders decorating the gates.

"Why couldn't it have been snakes?" Terra moaned, shivering a little at the spiders' beady little eyes and black, hairy bodies. She actually _liked_ snakes.

After she was a safe distance away from the fake spiders and got her heart rate under control, Terra started to examine her surroundings more closely, and she had to say she was impressed. Even without the Halloween decorations, the MacFarland Mansion almost looked like something out of a horror movie. Although not decrepit and abandoned -looking, it was large and foreboding, and it what little daylight was left, it looked downright spooky. Terra got chills just looking at it.

"Are you sure this is a Halloween party and not a Haunted House?" she asked, whispering quietly as she listened carefully for movement. She didn't want to have someone sneaking up on her, especially in a place like this, that was for sure. Hannah chuckled at her question, smiling fondly as she looked around at all the decorative skulls.

"I'm very sure," she assured Terra, who had just spotted something off to the side.

"I- is that a real cemetery?" she asked. Hannah stopped walking and turned to see what she was talking about.

"Oh yeah. That's the MacFarlands' private cemetery, just for their family. It's been there almost as long as the mansion itself," she answered nonchalantly, as though it was perfectly normal to have a cemetery right next to one's home. Terra had never seen a real one before, and kept glancing back at it curiously until they finally came to the entrance. The two girls could hear a lot of voices talking and laughing upstairs. Excitement coloring both their though, Hannah was the one who reached out and grabbed the ancient-looking door knocker. She pulled it back before letting it fall solidly against the door, resulting in a loud 'thud'. They didn't have to wait more than ten seconds before the door creaked open slowly, seemingly of its own accord, revealing a man in a "creepy old butler" costume.

"Welcome to MacFarland Mansion," the man said, his voice dry and crackly. It was then that Terra realized the man actually **was** a creepy old butler, and she barely managed to suppress the shiver that threatened to run down her back.

"The Halloween Bash is just upstairs to the right," the man continued, gesturing to the extremely fancy and old-fashioned staircase behind him. "Second to last door on the left. There will be mansion employees patrolling the premises, and if you are caught snooping around in an area you are not supposed to be, there will be. . . _grave_ consequences." Terra wondered if he had made that joke on purpose; it was hard to tell since his face could have been carved from stone, it was so stiff. Probably not, she decided, as he continued talking.

"There will be staff monitoring the dance room, so in the event that you need to use the facilities, I would suggest asking one of them for a pass and directions; without the pass, those on patrol will assume you are snooping." He glared at them both sternly, seeming very displeased that they were there, but he let them pass into the huge lobby. As he closed the door behind them, Terra gazed in awe at their surroundings. The lobby itself had to be at least twice the size of her house in both length and height. She leaned her head back to look at the ceiling and gasped in delight at the chandelier that hung majestically in the center of the room. 'Beautiful,' Terra thought to herself in awe. Suddenly filled with new excitement and all anxiety forgotten, Terra bounded up the stairs, with Hannah following closely behind. She happily did a sort of half-skip over to the correct -and open- set of doors, and she couldn't help but gasp at the sight that greeted her.

The decorations were **fantastic.** Creepy cobwebs hung across the ceiling like ghoulish streamers, and there was no way those bats in the corner weren't real, the way they were moving around. There were tons of refreshments on a long table off to the side, and most of the treats were monstrous in nature. Filled pastries decorated to look like various organs seemed to be one of the more popular treats. There were also very authentic-looking cauldrons filled with punch, and Terra was sure that they had fog machines installed inside.

But even the wonderful decorations paled in comparison to the costumes. Even though Terra was normally very shy and quiet when around so many people, she was smiling broadly at all the different costumes she saw. Heroes and villains alike milled around the room, chattering excitedly as they gazed at everyone's costumes. Terra saw what looked liked like Darth Vader hanging out with the Joker near a large stage that dominated the room's far wall. _'Maybe they're comparing their evilness or something.'_ Terra giggled at the thought. There were a few princesses and cat-girls over in the corner, whispering to each other. Terra vaguely recognized them as being some of the more popular girls from school. She made a mental not to avoid them as much as possible, just as a hand grasped her shoulder. She turned to see Hannah smiling at her.

"Do you like it?" Hannah asked. Terra had a feeling that she already knew the answer to her question, but responded anyway.

"It's wonderful," she assured her, turning back to gaze at all the costumes. But Hannah smirked and grabbed her arm, guiding her through the crowds of people. Terra squawked in surprise at the action, but let the other girl lead her over to the refreshment table, where Terra realized the other members of their group were waiting for them. Suddenly she was surrounded by the girls from their lunch-table, all poking and prodding her.

"I didn't know you were coming Terra!" Melody exclaimed. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I- uh, I'm Marik," Terra stuttered, surprised at their enthusiasm. She didn't think they would care one way or another if she came. "And, um. . . who are you guys?" Melody gave her a toothy grin that was mildly unnerving.

"We're Hetalia characters **(1)**," she told Terra proudly. "I'm Russia!"

"I'm Canada!" another girl exclaimed.

"Germany," another said, raising her hand. Terra blinked, not really understanding.

"Okay then?" The girls giggled at her a bit, before squealing in delight as the lights dimmed and a spotlight was set on the stage. "What's going on?" Terra whispered to Melody, who shushed her. Feeling a little put out, she turned her attention to the stage like everyone else. A man walked out dressed as a vampire, and everybody clapped, leaving Terra confused.

"Hello, everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful night so far?" Cheers and shouts sprang from every corner of the huge dance room, making Terra want to clamp her hands over her ears in protest. Why did they have to be so _noisy?!_

"Good, good!" the man continued happily. "Now then, let me officially welcome you to our thirty-seventh annual Halloween Bash! Refreshments are on the table, and I want you to all have a _ghoulish_ time, okay?" More cheering, louder this time,, and Terra did have to cover her ears. "But what is a dance-" the man asked, a strange glint entering his eye. "-without music?"

At his words, a curtain began to slowly rise behind him and fog machines began to spill eerie mists onto the stage. The cheering from the audience kept growing in volume, and created a creepy echo as it reverberated against the walls. It began to sound positively demonic, and Terra wished she had thought to bring earplugs. _'They're loud enough to wake the dead.'_ Finally, mercifully, the man raised his hands for silence as the curtain finished rising, leaving nothing but an inky blackness behind him.

"I give to you," he said dramatically, gesturing behind himself. "the _Narcissistic Cannibals!"_ Spotlights came on behind him as he ducked out of the way, revealing a band decked out in dark and spooky clothing. They began playing the first of many Halloween-themed songs that night, and Terra watched nervously as people began dancing. Unfortunately for her, 'people' included her friends.

"Come on Terra!" Melody said, grabbing at her arms. "Dance with us!" Terra managed to dodge her friend's groping hands just in time.

"I'm- I can't dance," she stuttered, feeling panic creep up on her. She had never danced before in her life, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of all these people! Melody pouted and began to whine in disappointment. The other girls then tried to get her to dance with them, but Terra would not give in, and eventually they gave up. They all went to dance, leaving Terra standing awkwardly by herself, skittering out of the way when people wanted to get at the refreshments behind her.

Terra watched the other kids dance for a while, all excitement she had felt fading into a dull ache in her chest as she slowly realized how out-of-place she was, being there. Not knowing what else to do, Terra sighed and ran her hands through her wig, grimacing a bit when she felt the plastic fibers instead of her real hair. It felt fake and unnatural. _'Just like me being here, trying to socialize,'_ she thought with dry humor, shaking her head softly.

She had been standing there in the corner for about an hour, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She yelped, startled by the sudden contact, and turned to find herself looking at a guy dressed in a Kaiba costume. 'He's very. . . in-character,' Terra thought as she noted his deep scowl. Before she had quite realized what he was doing, something soft was shoved into her hands.

"My girlfriend gave it to me and I just broke up with her," he said grumpily, causing Terra's bewilderment to increase greatly. "I don't want it anymore, so you can keep it. Do with it what you will."

"Ah- wait!" Terra squeaked as he began to walk away. He turned back around and raised an eyebrow, possibly thinking that her outburst was not very Marik-like. "Why me?!"

"Because you're obviously invested in the fandom, and would appreciate it more than the other people here," he stated, as though it were obvious, prompting Terra to actually look at the thing. It was too dark to see much detail, but she could make out enough to realize that it was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon plush doll.

"Oh. . . Um, thank you, I guess?" He nodded and walked brusquely away.

Moments later, a big-breasted girl dressed as Joey Wheeler ran by, screaming, "Wait! EVAN! It's not what you think!" A boy dressed as Yami Yugi ran after her, shouting something about boyfriends angrily **(2)**. Terra blinked and turned her attention back to the Blue-Eyes.

_'That was. . . odd,'_ she thought, gently checking for tears in the fabric. There were none. _'He obviously took good care of this. I wonder what I should do with it?'_ She didn't really feel right keeping it, but the guy had seemed very set in his decision. _'And I _do_ love dragons.'_ She preferred red, European dragons of course, but Blue-Eyes was okay. Seeing her friends finally ceasing their endless dancing and making their way over to her, she decided to figure it out later.

"Aw man Terra! You missed out big time!"

"We started Gangnam Styling **(3)** randomly, and we got a bunch of other people to join in!"

"It was so much fun!"

Terra gave a weak smile as they began grabbing cups of punch, chattering happily all the while. She tried to listen to their conversation for several minutes, but she couldn't understand much of it and soon gave up. Even if she had understood more, it wouldn't have made much difference. She still wouldn't have been able to contribute much. By the time she managed to create an opinion on one topic, they would have either already move on to a new topic, or talked so fast that she could not get a word in edgewise. This was true no matter who she talked to, so it usually didn't bother her in the slightest. However, perhaps because she was surrounded by people, tonight it made Terra feel more alone than ever.

She sighed and moved behind Hannah, tapping her gently on the shoulder. Hannah understandably jumped -it _was_ Halloween, after all- and turned to face her, a question forming on her tongue.

"I'm tired. I'm going home," Terra told her, answering her unasked question. Hannah blinked in surprise.

"Oh, uh, okay? Do you want me to call my mom? She could come pick you up." Terra shook her head.

"No, it's fine," she said. "I've got my cell phone on me, I'll just call my parents. Thank you for inviting me." Hannah gave her a brilliant smile, making Terra feel a little bad for leaving early.

"Of course Terra! You're our friend!" A lump formed in Terra's throat, and she nodded gratefully. Hannah turned back to the girls' never-ceasing conversation, and Terra took that as her cue to leave.

Slipping silently between the party-goers, she made her way to the doors, not even stopping when the band began playing one of her favorite songs. She walked slowly back down to the lobby, pausing briefly to let the creepy butler know she was leaving when he confronted her. Once she was outside, she let the front doors slide softly back into place before taking out her phone. Wasting no time, she quickly flipped it open and pressed the power button.

"Shit!" she cussed when it wouldn't turn on. _'I must have forgotten to charge it!'_ The thought made Terra stare dumbly at her phone for a few minutes as she tried to figure out what to do. She supposed she could go back inside and accept Hannah's offer, but she didn't want to be a bother, and they were having so much fun. She could still hear the music playing, even though she was outside. She blew a strand of wig-hair out of her face and weighed her options, mentally calculating her best course of action. Coming to a decision, she nodded to herself in determination and began walking along the path.

She would just walk home, no big deal. Even someone like Terra, who couldn't find her way out of a paper bag, could find their way from the mansion to Hannah's house. They had pretty much walked in a straight line after all, and she even knew the street name. And she had been to her house once before, so she would be able to find her way back home from there.

"Simple. No big deal," she whispered to herself, clutching the Blue-Eyes closer to her chest as she walked.

It had been a cloudy night when she and Hannah had arrived, but now a chill wind was revealing the crescent moon, causing Terra to shiver violently. Not only did it create an utterly creepy atmosphere, but her costume did not prepare her for the cold. '_I'll freeze to death before I even get to Hannah's house, let alone mine,'_ she thought as her teeth chattered.

Terra was just about to turn around and go back inside when she saw it. Before she quite realized what she was doing, she had taken two steps back, keeping her eyes trained on it warily.

"Trick of the light, trick of the light," she whispered fearfully, grasping the Blue-Eyes even tighter. But the only light came from the sliver of moon that was peaking through the darkness, the clouds having blocked all the starlight. And even in that tiny amount of light, Terra could see far more than she wanted to.

It was very much like that incident on the way to the party, making Terra feel faint. Unlike before, however, the strange shifting shadow did not grow smaller and disappear after a second. If anything, she realized in horror, it was getting bigger. She watched, frozen in fear, as the strange shadow grew and shifted, becoming darker and more defined before her very eyes. Before she knew it, she was looking at a huge, furry, green thing with huge claws and ears. It was hunched over and staring at her with an intent look on its face. Fear gripped Terra's heart like a vice as she recognized the monster.

_'I don't know what's worse!'_ she thought in a panic. _'The fact that I'm most likely hallucinating, or the fact that I'm staring a Feral Imp dead in the face!'_ Terra cautiously took a step back, staring it in the eyes and hoping it would leave her alone until she got back inside. Unfortunately for her, her slight movement made the Fiend even more interested in her. It made an odd sort of chattering noise **(4)** and began to move slowly towards her, running its tongue over its fangs as though it were considering her for a meal. This simple action terrified Terra almost as much as the thing's appearance, and she spun on her heel and ran screaming back towards the mansion, desperately hoping someone would hear her and come to help.

At her sudden movement, Feral Imp gave chase, growling playfully. If Terra had been watching it on TV, she would have been reminded vaguely of a sort of strange dog, but being chased by it only filled her head with more panicked thoughts of what it might do to her. Somewhere between those fear-driven thoughts, she came to a sudden realization.

_'It might hurt them!'_ There were innocent people at that party. Feral Imp could tear any number of innocent teenagers apart before someone managed to take it down. The thought of people getting hurt because of something she did made Terra feel sick. Suddenly she knew what she had to do. She had to lead it **away** from the mansion. This new train of thought left no room or time for arguing with herself, and when a fork in the path appeared she took it without hesitation, sprinting towards her new destination with all the strength she could muster. Feral Imp followed closely behind, seeming to enjoy itself as it lunged at her a few times, as if trying to catch her in its grip.

Terra's determination to protect the others never faltered, even as she ran into the MacFarlands' cemetery. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Feral Imp slowing down slightly as it entered the misty area. Sensing an opportunity, she turned right and quickly ducked down behind a large tombstone.

Terra held her breath as the Fiend ran past her hiding spot, and didn't release it until its footsteps had faded. She coughed several times, her lungs struggling to replenish her air supply. She did **not** want to do that again. _Ever_. She waited until she had caught her breath before she began to move again. As carefully and quietly as she could, Terra began to sneak back to the path. If she could get back to the mansion now, she could warn everybody about the Imp before the party ended and they all came out in droves, easy prey for the rogue Duel Monster. She barely wondered how on Earth it had even gotten there; that wasn't important now, and she could wonder about it once everyone was safe.

Suddenly, Terra saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and she gasped as she jerked her head up. Caught by surprise, she barely had time to scream before the Feral Imp had jumped down and grabbed her. She tried to worm her way out of its grasp, but it was no use; it was too strong for her. The thing seemed delighted, and it held her close to its body as though she was some sort of prize. _'Which might not be far from the truth,'_ she thought with sick horror from her spot between the creature's claws.

Without warning, the Feral Imp let out a very loud and indescribable noise, making Terra yelp in fright. Shortly after the sound finished echoing off of the gravestones, Terra felt a disturbing coldness creeping up her legs. She closed her eyes tightly and steeled her nerves as best as she could before opening them and quickly looking down. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that greeted her.

"No. . . No, no, no,_ no, NO!"_ she shrieked hysterically as the dark, shadowy tendrils coiled themselves around her legs, reaching ever higher. Terra continued to scream until the shadows clamped around her mouth, acting as a gag and silencing her. Within seconds, the shadows completely enveloped both girl and creature. They only lingered for a few moments before receding and fading, leaving an empty cemetery behind.

Terra's screams continued to echo faintly for several minutes, still rebounding off of the tombstones when someone cautiously entered the graveyard, brandishing a flashlight. The mansion staff member shined his flashlight over the tombstones, looking around suspiciously for signs of life. Finding none, he scratched his head in bewilderment. He could have sworn he heard someone here. . . He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I must have been mistaken. There's nobody here. Bah, they don't pay me enough for this," he muttered to himself. He turned to leave, and soon silence reigned in the empty cemetery once more.

* * *

Normally, I wouldn't put any annotation thingies in the story, but these are things I feel the need to explain.

**(1)**I don't know anything about Hetalia. I have no idea what the characters act like or anything. The reason they are Hetalia characters is because my friends in real life love Hetalia, and like Terra, I usually have no idea what they're talking about. So if that part seems weird or anything, please tell me so I can fix it to sound at least somewhat accurate. ^^"

**(2)** I honestly have no idea where this came from. The Joey cosplayer was cheating on the Kaiba cosplayer with the Yami Yugi cosplayer. I kept it because I thought it was funny. I can just see that Joey cosplayer forcing her boyfriend(s) into doing yaoi skits or something, I don't even know. XD

**(3)** I don't know how to turn Gangnam Style into a verb. I thought "doing Gangnam Style" sounded stupid, so this is what I settled on. If anybody wants to educate me on the proper way to say that, then please feel free. Also, I don't know why they're Gangnam Styling, it just seemed like something they would do. XD Melody is kind of crazy, so yeah.

**(4)**I have no idea what noise Feral Imp makes. For all I know it doesn't even make any noises. I made this part up. I envisioned it sounding like some kind of demonic monkey/dog hybrid thing, but if you picture something else that's fine. (If you do, you should tell me. That would be interesting, and I would love to hear it!)

Also, since I keep forgetting to do this:** Terra, Melody, Hannah, and pretty much any other original characters in this story belong to me.**

And in case anyone is curious, as far as I'm aware there is no place called "MacFarland Mansion". If there is, it doesn't exist where this story is set in real life (which I'm probably never going to mention, since it doesn't really matter, but whatever. It's somewhere in America, that's all you need to know.)

Next time on Breaking Through! Terra finally reaches the Yu-Gi-Oh! World! Whatever will she do?! Will she find her way back home? Find out next time!

(Next chapter will hopefully be up soon -as in, within the next month- but I can't make any promises because school.)


	4. Chapter 3

I wrote this chapter while procrastinating on an essay. Not one of my smartest ideas. I barely managed to get the essay done in time. ^^"

Anyway, the beginning of this chapter is kind of corny and probably kind of cliched or something, I think, so sorry in advance.

And, to the reviewer who was concerned about Terra being a little shallow: I'm glad you pointed that out. Yes, she is a little shallow. I did that on purpose. You'll understand why she's like that better later on. And just to be clear, I'm not against adding Abridged references, I just don't want that to be the only reason people are reading my story. This is my own story, with my own ideas, and it's based on the canon Yu-Gi-Oh! as closely as I can get it. If I were doing an abridged fanfic, then I would of course use Abridged references, but it's good to also add your own jokes and ideas to make a story uniquely _yours._ It's really just personal preference; I don't really like using other people's jokes unless I have a way to twist them and make them more my own idea. If that makes any sense at all. ^^" I'm bad at explaining things sometimes, lol.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! (Also, I probably should have mentioned it before, but you guys have no idea how relieved I was to hear that Terra wasn't a Mary Sue. I was worried about that and worked really hard to make sure she wasn't. I even took a bazillion Mary Sue Litmus tests, just to make sure. ^^" )

Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter! Feel free to give me ideas and tips on how to make the story better; input is always appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Three

Terra was scared of lots of things. Spiders and most other bugs were at the top of the list. Talking to other people and going places on her own? Those were pretty scary too, but she _could_ do those things if she had to. But the place Terra now found herself in was beyond scary. It was terrifying. It had been so easy to make fun of when it was just on the TV screen! Purple smoke everywhere? Pshaw! That's not scary at all!

But actually being in the Shadow Realm, not knowing what was up and what was down? And being carried by a Feral Imp to what was most likely your doom? It took all Terra had just to keep from wetting her pants.

She desperately twisted around, trying to loosen the Imp's hold on her, but its claws didn't even budge and the effort drained her far more than she expected. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed and was beating much too fast for her taste. Terra let out a sound that was a cross between a groan and a whimper as she tried to clutch at her chest and failed.

The Feral Imp growled, annoyed that its prize kept squirming so much. Terra couldn't help but flinch at the noise; it seemed unbearably loud to her in the unnatural silence, and it echoed eerily, giving her the shivers. She gripped the Blue-Eyes doll tighter as her head began pounding painfully in time with the beating of her heart.

_'I'm going to die here,'_ she realized hysterically. She didn't want to die! She had barely gotten to live! _'I've got to get out of here. . . .'_

But it was getting harder for her to think as her limbs grew heavy and prickled unpleasantly. Soon it began to feel like her body was being torn apart, molecule by molecule. When this thought flitted across her mind, the image of Danny Phantom was pulled up and the pain in her body seemed to dull as she found something to focus on. She managed to call forth images of hero after hero, all the men, women, girls, and boys whose stories had helped give her strength over the years. Terra took a deep breath, drawing comfort from the familiar faces as she had done so many times before. If all of them could be brave when faced with danger, then she could too. . . right?

Focusing on the images of her favorite characters to distract herself from the nightmarish landscape, Terra created a new image of herself in her mind's eye: a brave girl who was strong and smart enough to get out of this. She let the picture wash over herself and took strength from it, putting herself in this new character's shoes the same way she did when writing a story. Now. . . what would this different version of herself do? _'First things first: get Feral Imp to let go of me.' _In a sudden burst of inspiration, she leaned down and bit Feral Imp's paw as hard as she could.

The Feral Imp yelped in pain and loosened its grip on Terra, who took the opportunity to quickly squirm out of its grasp. It took a few seconds for Feral Imp to realize its prize was no longer in its claws, and by that time Terra was already running laboriously in the direction she hoped was they way they had come. She feverishly hoped that there would be some kind of portal that she could go through to get back. If there wasn't, she was trapped and would die there. She shivered involuntarily and kept moving.

Howling in rage, the Feral Imp gave chase, furious that its prize was trying to escape. Hearing the angry howl, Terra tried to run faster and ignored the stitch in her side.

"Come on, come on," she gasped, trying to urge herself to go faster despite struggling to breathe. The ground, if it could be called that, felt extremely odd against her feet as she ran. It was a little slippery and very smooth, but for some reason she kept tripping on things when there was nothing there to trip on. She imagined that it was a little like trying to run over a partially frozen tar-pit. It was a bizarre feeling and slowed her down greatly, allowing Feral Imp to gain on her.

The Fiend lunged toward her, claws extended to grab her, just as she turned back to look. Screaming at the sight, Terra desperately threw herself to the side. She wasn't quite quick enough, as Feral Imp's claws grazed her left shoulder. She gasped in pain as she hit the ground clutching her shoulder with her free hand. The Feral Imp growled dangerously as it turned to face her. It didn't like the way its prize had been behaving.

Terra held the Blue-Eyes doll close to her chest as she shut her eyes tightly, in too much pain to run anymore. Everything hurt, and she felt like she was floating even as her body turned to lead. The weightless feeling suddenly intensified, startling her. She opened her eyes to see the Shadows reaching out and swallowing her in their embrace once more. The Feral Imp watched, confused and upset, as it prey sank screaming into the Shadows and disappeared without a trace.

Seto Kaiba was a very busy man. He did not appreciate being distracted from his work, and while most people knew this and avoided interrupting him at all costs, some tried his patience by wasting his time. However, sometimes, if their interruption seemed worthwhile, he would let it slide and listen to their drivel. When that Ishtar woman had called him and promised him cards more powerful than Exodia, he had decided it might be worth his time to check it out. When she had started going on about ancient Egyptians and that destiny mumbo-jumbo, he had started to regret this decision. But then she had given him Obelisk the Tormentor, and he had to admit (to himself, not out loud) that it had not been a complete waste of his time after all. No, the waste of time had come after he left the museum.

He had been sitting in his limo, examining Obelisk with a slightly maniacal grin and planning his new tournament as the buildings of Domino passed by. _'With Obelisk's power, not even Yuugi will be able to defeat me now!'_ he thought, a wicked smirk working its way onto his face. Then without warning, the limo swerved violently, causing Seto to smack his face on the window before he could catch himself. Angrily rubbing his now-sore cheek, Seto angrily pushed the intercom button.  
"Driver! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

"Ah! S-Sorry, Kaiba-sama, but a girl just ran in front of us!" the driver stuttered in shock. "I had to swerve to avoid her!"

Seto narrowed his eyes and growled in frustration. What kind of idiot runs out in the middle of the road at night? Deciding to give this girl a piece of his mind, he opened his window and looked out. The girl was sitting in the road, staring at the limo in shock like an idiot.

"Oi! Girl! What the hell is your problem?"

* * *

Terra screamed as she fell, certain she was about to die any second as the Shadows rushed past her. She closed her eyes as tightly as she could, not wanting to see the end. As a result, she did not see when her fall was abruptly cut short, and the Shadows suddenly parted, dumping her out onto solid ground painfully and with as much grace as Zorc trying to do ballet.

"Owww. . . ." Terra whined pitifully, laying on the ground for several minutes. She was so burnt out, she felt like she could sleep for three thousand years. She knew she couldn't just lie there who-knows-where though, and eventually, she gathered enough energy to push herself to her feet. She did so shakily, wincing as the pain in her shoulder flared up and looking around, trying to figure out where she was. She thought it was some sort of alleyway, but it was so dark that she couldn't really see anything in detail and could only assume. She also thought it looked somewhat familiar, but none of the alleys at home looked like that, and she couldn't place it.

Shaking her head to clear it of useless thoughts, Terra nearly fell over as her knees buckled and sent a fresh wave of pain radiating through her body. Putting a hand on the wall to steady herself, Terra began limping to. . . well, she didn't know where she was going. She just hoped she would find somebody who could tell her where she was and how she could get home. She was fairly certain she was not in her hometown anymore, but she would need more than just strange alleyways to be sure. The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach was telling her she was right, however, and she dearly hoped she wasn't too far from her home.

Terra grunted in pain as she slowly limped along. She wished her body didn't ache so badly. She idly wondered if this was what being electrocuted felt like. Every nerve felt like it was on fire, causing Terra to be bombarded with unpleasant sensations every time she moved. After spending a long time wandering along, the alleyway she was in intersected with another, making Terra groan as she tried to figure out which way to go.

"Hehehehe. . . ." A sudden, sinister-sounding chuckle coming from her right made her freeze in her tracks and look around wildly, wide-eyed with fear. Spinning around, Terra saw two men emerging from the shadows of the adjacent alley. They looked like thugs, Terra noticed with a sinking feeling. They were muscular and scruffy-looking, and Terra couldn't help but take in a sharp breath when she saw that one of them had a knife. They advanced toward her threateningly, and that was all the cue Terra needed to run. Her body was still weak and didn't want to obey her commands, but she ran as fast as she possibly could, praying it would be enough.

Her feet pounded on the concrete heavily as her footsteps echoed loudly off of the buildings. She heard the thugs yell something at her as they gave chase, but she was too focused on the pounding of her heart to listen to anything other than the blood rushing to her ears. The thugs followed closely behind her as she ran. Too close. The one with the knife suddenly lunged forward and tried to catch her with the sharpened blade. Thankfully he missed by a couple of inches and made himself stumble. Even with that small miracle, she was quickly losing speed and would be caught soon if she didn't do something.

Suddenly the alleyway came to an abrupt end and opened up to a city street. Terra's brain barely registered this before she was out in the middle of it. The screeching of tires reached her ears, and time seemed to go in slow-motion as she turned to see a black limo swerving to avoid her. She froze in shock, unable to react as the vehicle barreled towards her. The limo barely missed her in time, screeching to an angry halt just a few feet away from her and sitting sideways on the road, the driver probably in as much shock as she was. Terra's legs finally gave out, and she fell down, still staring dumbly at the limo as her body protested all the abuse it had been put through that night. She could have died. She could have _died_.

"Holy shit," she breathed, trying to not fall into hysterics as her brain finally began to catch up with the situation and tried to process it all. Fortunately for Terra's sanity, she was interrupted by a voice yelling from inside the limo.

"Oi! Girl! What the hell is your problem?" Startled, Terra realized the limo's back window had been rolled down and she was now being glared at by an angry-looking guy.

"Uhh. . . ?" she said intelligently, trying to figure out what he had just yelled. It had sounded almost. . . Japanese? That couldn't be right. . . could it?

"Are you some kind of idiot or something? Answer my question!" Seto growled at her, quickly growing impatient. He had a tournament to plan and a company to run, and this weird kid was wasting his valuable time! Terra was taken aback. He _was_ speaking Japanese! She clearly heard him say the word "baka", and felt her temper flare. This jerk had called her stupid!

"I am **not** stupid!" Terra protested, hoping he could understand her. "I'm lost, and cold, and hurt, and being chased by men with knives, and I _don't speak Japanese!"_ She didn't care that she was probably overreacting, she just wanted the craziness to end.

". . . If you don't speak Japanese, then why the hell are you in Japan by yourself?" the guy asked in lightly accented English.

"Y-You speak English!" she blurted out in relief, caught off-guard by his sudden shift in languages. Then she realized what he had said. "I'm in JAPAN?!" she asked in shock.

"Where did you _think_ you were? Disney World?" he snorted sarcastically. She flushed in embarrassment and anger.

"I thought I was at least in my own state!" she snapped, not liking this guy's attitude. "I live in _America!_ I'm not supposed to be here!" Terra was struggling not to panic. What was she going to do? She had no money, no change of clothes, no **home**. Where was she going to stay? How was she going to get home?

Seto watched with narrowed eyes as the girl attempted to not burst into tears. She seemed to be genuinely lost and confused, but was wearing such outlandish clothing, he couldn't take anything she said seriously. _'American fashions must be bizarre,'_ he concluded just as he spotted the Blue-Eyes White Dragon doll in her hands. She was clutching it so tightly, you'd think her life depended on it, but she didn't seem to be aware that she was even holding it. Seto narrowed his eyes further and shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth his time and probably some kind of trick. He was about to roll up the window and tell his driver to move on when the intercom flared to life.

"Uh. . . Kaiba-sama?" the driver asked uncertainly. Seto growled in annoyance and jabbed at the intercom button.

"What," Seto said shortly, switching back into Japanese.

"Sh-She's bleeding, sir." Seto reluctantly glanced back over at the girl and saw that she was indeed bleeding. Seto groaned in frustration.

"We didn't hit her, did we?" he asked impatiently. He did **not** want to deal with this right now. More distractions. He _loathed_ distractions.

"I-I don't think so, sir!" the driver stuttered. "B-But it was awfully close. . ." Seto exhaled sharply, thoroughly annoyed with the situation. This incident had cost him too much time already, and now he would have to deal with it even longer. _Great_. Ignoring his driver's confused protests, Seto stepped out of the limo and walked over to the girl.

Sensing movement in front of her, Terra jerked her head up, only to freeze in shock. _'T-That's! There's no way that's a cosplay!?'_ she thought in a panic, examining the man in front of her frantically and searching for signs of deception. There were none. _'It's impossible to get the billowiness of Kaiba's coats right, and this guy got it perfect! So either he's a god among cosplayers, or. . .' _Looking at the man in front of her, Terra came to the sickening realization. _'. . . it's __**real**__. . .'_ Before she could question her sanity however, Kaiba had grabbed her, brought her to her feet, and began to steer her toward the limo.

"W-What are you-?!" she squeaked in surprise.

"Taking you to the hospital," Kaiba stated coldly. "I have other things I'd much rather be doing right now, so unless you would rather I left you on the street, I suggest you shut up and get in the limo." Confused and startled by his odd display of behavior, Terra reluctantly complied. "And don't get any blood on the seats. I doubt you can afford it," he seemed to add as an afterthought as he got in and closed the door. Terr furrowed her brow in confusion.

_'Blood?'_ she wondered, before remembering how Feral Imp had clawed at her shoulder. She craned her head to look, and sure enough, there were three gashes in her shoulder leaking blood and staining her Marik hoodie. Terra frowned and made a disappointed noise in the back of her throat. _'Just my luck,'_ she mentally grumbled to herself._ 'My shirt's ruined, and I'm stuck in a limo with "Mr. Sociable".'_

". . . Are you wearing a wig?" Terra jumped and turned to see Kaiba looking at her with an eyebrow raised and an expression on his face that screamed "what kind of nut-job did I just let in my limo?". Terra realized she was indeed still wearing her wig and reached up to take it off before belatedly realizing she was still holding the Blue-Eyes. Sheepishly, she set the Blue-Eyes on her lap and pulled off the wig, wincing as the bobby-pins ripped out some of her hair.

Seto watched, eyebrow raised, as the girl fumbled around to get the horrendous blonde wig off, revealing long and frizzy brown hair. "And. . . **why** were you wearing that?" he asked suspiciously. She frowned, annoyed.

"Before I mysteriously wound of here -of all places!-" he heard her mutter before continuing. "-I had been at a costume party." She seemed to fall in on herself and held the Blue-Eyes doll closer, as though trying to draw comfort from the dragon, something that Kaiba did not fail to notice. She was oblivious to this however, and let her mind continue to wander. _'I wonder how long it'll take for people to notice I'm missing. . . Will they even care?'_ Terra closed her eyes as the thought wrenched her heart. Someone **would** care. And she'd find a way back home. She had to keep believing that. But a cold, empty feeling worked its way into her heart as they spent the rest of the ride to the hospital in silence.

* * *

Terra's finally in Domino City! Yay! She kind of freaked out there though; can you really blame her? First the Shadow Realm, then two huge guys appearing out of nowhere and attacking you, then Kaiba's limo almost running you over? Even if you went out of your house regularly, you'd probably be freaking out. She'll calm down soon enough though, no worries. And Kaiba probably seems kind of out of character there, but I have a (hopefully) good reason for it!

I have no idea how long it will be until I get the next chapter up; hopefully not more than a month. I haven't even started it yet because school is stressful right now, but winter break is coming soon, so hopefully I'll get it done fairly quickly. And hopefully I won't get too distracted by that Harry Potter/YGO crossover or that Danny Phantom/YGO crossover my brain compelled me to start when I'm not even done with this story yet. ^^" I'll probably be posting the first chapters of those stories soon too, so if you guys are interested. . . *shameless advertising*

Anyway, see you guys next time! And feel free to give me feedback! :)


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